Running a bed and breakfast and a farm means a busy life, especially when the farm needed everything. The roofs are being done now and in a few days the porch on my farmhouse will be torn down too. The old house was in very poor shape when I got here two years ago. The former owners of 30 years did no maintenance anywhere that we could determine. Things were in rough shape for sure. One contractor advised me to tear the house down and buy a modular home. He said." For the cost of fixing this house up, you could have brand new one!" But who wants to live in a modular home built with synthetics and off gasing materials of poor quality? Not me!

So the repairs began, first to remove the bathroom. The former owners blocked off the only window and then insulated inside the walls and installed a sauna. The wires were hanging directly from the ceiling and the mice infestation was incredible. There was zero ventilation, actually none in either of the houses, but with the sauna one would have thought they might have realized that warm, moist air had to go somewhere. The result was black mold. The walls and ceiling had to come off and that sauna had to go. A man ripped it apart for me as a gift. I am to this touched by his generosity. For days he painstakingly tore it apart, wearing a mask against the mice dust, and removed nails and stacked the lumber. Then when we began to remove the ceiling, the old insulation came down. It tested positive for asbestos and had to be removed by using a huge suction machine. The men were suited in complete gear to protect themselves from the asbestos. Finally, the bathroom was livable, with a new tile floor and new walls. The rest of the house required work, but with money tight, only what was necessary was done. When the attic was insulated with the blown in cellulose, it was quite evident that the old shake roof did not have long to live.

The big wind storm a few days ago blew the cap off the roof top exposing daylight up there. It was time. So both roofs, the bed and breakfast and the farmhouse, are being reroofed. The crew are pleasant and friendly and the foreman is a woman! Awesome! They all came out yesterday with the kids to visit and see the animals. Today they are back at it tearing the shakes off.

The patio at the B & B will be torn up in the next few days as well and forms for a new concrete patio placed. The interlocking brick was never installed correctly and the ants bring up the sand continuously. As well, the patio is sloped to the house leaving the water to drain right to the door. It is frustrating to say the least, to purchase a place, have it inspected twice, have the former owners and realtor extol the virtues of the place, only to find that absolutely nothing is done well or properly which resulted in a multitude of problems. However; amidst lambing and kidding and building, there has to be time made for fun. When, though, I just don't know.